Possible Drought?
State Water Board Thinks So
Yes, the reservoirs are
slowly emptying and many crops are not getting enough water because of severely reduced
allocations. But the reason is not due to a drought. The fact is that this
year’s rain (pink line) is not that far off an average year (black dotted line).
The average
of eight precipitation stations serves as a wetness index for the Sacramento
River hydrologic region, where most of the state’s rain occurs.
The eight-station index provides a representative sample of the region's major
watersheds, which are: the upper Sacramento, Feather, Yuba, and American Rivers, which
produce inflow to some of California's largest reservoirs - the source
of much of our water supply. The eight
stations are: Blue Canyon,
Brush Creek Ranger Station, Mineral, Mount Shasta City, Pacific House, Quincy
Ranger Station, Shasta Dam, and Sierraville Ranger Station.
Seasonal
runoff forecasts are based on many more measurements than this index,
including snowpack and prior streamflow. And yes, the seasonal forecasts are a more accurate measure of water supply, but great consideration
must be made to the nearly one million acre-feet released to the
ocean last winter for “flood control” instead of to storage. This
is due to the biological opinion that restricts turning on the pumps that move the water to storage.
Again, there are many ways to characterize a drought. But the most accurate definition describing the situation in California this year can only be titled, "A Congressional Drought!"
Labels: 8 station index, California Rainfall, Congressional Drought, Reduced Allocations, Water Board Drought
